Denvr_Sports_Insider's Blog

North Carolina’s Ty Lawson finally showed up for his workout with the Denver Nuggets Tuesday, ready to work towards his future but still a bit bitter about his past.

Lawson seemed satisfied with his performance before the Nuggets’ brass after missing his original workout Sunday.

“It went good,” Lawson said.

“I think I shot the ball well and played well. Overall I think I did good at this workout.”

However, you could tell Lawson was a little embarrassed to answer questions about his now-infamous incident near UNC’s campus.

Lawson was arrested last Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C., and charged with driving after consuming alcohol. The 20-year-old point guard admitted a knee problem and his arrest contributed to his absence.

“I got a D.W.I., before when I went out. I made a mistake. I also think [the arrest] was unjustified too,” Lawson said.

“I felt like [the police] said that my music was too loud on Franklin Street which was like a mile, two miles, three miles from where they stopped me at.”

Franklin Street is a main strip leading into North Carolina’s campus.

“I also blew a .03, so I was being responsible.”

“I wasn’t driving around drunk. I was just underage,” Lawson told reporters following his workout Tuesday.

When asked why he felt his arrest was “unjustified,” Lawson explained it was because his alleged first infraction occurred far from his arrest.

“A little bit…On Franklin [the officer] said my music was loud, but they pulled me over like right in front of my house.”

“When I turned into the neighborhood I turned [the music] down. Somebody called me and that’s how I knew I turned it down…so I feel like it was kind of unjust.”

Lawson, who practiced in front of Nuggets’ vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien, and vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman, made sure to emphasize his absence was also due to a misunderstanding. Lawson said an email was sent by one of his coaches explaining his absence in advance.

However, Nuggets head coach George Karl, who was unable to attend practice Tuesday due to his travel to L.A. for the NBA Finals, reportedly said his expectation was for Lawson to attend the workout on Sunday.

Even though Lawson had multiple explanations for being absent, he clearly understands he needs to make more mature decisions.

“Yeah, I should have been a little bit more responsible on that part…I shouldn’t have even been out, so it’s part of growing up [and] you live and you learn,” Lawson said.

There are probably many Denver fans who think the speedy 5’11” Lawson would be a nice fit in the back-court with Allen Iverson. Lawson has the same vision.

“I think I fit in real well. They’re like my type of tempo of basketball: up and down the court.”

“Then you got great players like Carmelo, A.I., Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin-all the people I looked up to [since] I’ve been playing. It would be good if I got a chance to play with those guys.”

While he denied a DraftExpress.com report that said the Nuggets had promised to select him with the 20th overall pick, Lawson (who still has not hired an agent) admitted he was still unsure about his draft stock.

“Just after these workouts, see where everybody says I stand; how well I did. Probably top 20, that’s probably my limit. If I’m not going top 20, I will probably go back to school. I will probably know a lot by June 15th…and sit with my family and decide. The deadline is June 16th, but we will sit down June 15th.”

Lawson said there is no doubt he will include UNC’s head coach Roy Williams in his decision.

“He’s probably going to call the teams. He called like three of the teams I worked out for. So he’s going to call them and see where I stand.”